


was it all a fantasy?

by starryboy



Series: easier said than done [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, M/M, jisung deserves the world, nohyuckmin being dumb teenagers together, we love best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryboy/pseuds/starryboy
Summary: jaemin wishes he could call donghyuck an idiot, a complete dumbass, but he can’t. only a clever little shit could come up with something so brilliant, yet so incredibly moronic at the same time.or, jaemin and jisung meet in the midst of bad english grades and a dumb bet.





	was it all a fantasy?

**Author's Note:**

> me: yeah the whole reason they meet is bc jisung has to tutor jaemin bc he's dunb  
> also me: only writes one scene of them actually studying

Jaemin wishes he could call Donghyuck an idiot, a complete dumbass, but he can’t. Only a clever little shit could come up with something so brilliant, yet so incredibly moronic at the same time. 

It all started in English; the class has never been Jaemin’s strong suit, but it never crossed his mind that he was so bad he needed a tutor. Though when his teacher pulls him aside after class, right before lunch, and tells him that she’s disappointed in his latest test scores, and as a result assigned one of the students in her honors class to tutor him, he realizes maybe it’s worse than he thought.

Sighing, he plops down into his seat at his regular lunch table, Jeno pulls his lunch tray out from under him just in time for Jaemin to drop his head down onto the table. Donghyuck laughs when he groans, looking up at them while rubbing his forehead.

“I’m failing English,” he says, pouting at the two very unsympathetic looking boys. Donghyuck rolls his eyes at Jaemin’s dramatics and turns back to look at his phone not that secretly hidden under the table. 

Jeno pushes the tray back in front of him, “That’s what you get for being a dumbass.”

He really hates his friends, “I deserve more respect than this.”

“Why would I respect anyone that’s failing something as easy as English?” Donghyuck asks, smiling cheekily at him.

“She assigned me a tutor,” Jaemin grabs his fork, shoveling applesauce into his mouth, “he’s in her honors class,” he says, not bothering to swallow before he speaks again. Jeno and Donghyuck look disgusted, “I’m being tutored by some fake deep annoying Honors English student! He probably writes bad poetry in his free time!”

His friends laugh at the incredulous expression on his face before going back to their earlier conversation. 

“I’m not lying Jeno he was so fucking pretty,” Donghyuck says, a hand thrown dramatically over his heart.

Jeno laughs, both of them having forgotten Jaemin’s problems, assholes, “Do you even know his name?”

Jaemin buts in, “Donghyuck you know damn well the only pretty boys in this school are us, don’t lie.”

“Shut your mouth Jaemin he was so cute,” he takes a swig of his milk carton, “I need to see him again.”

There’s a scream heard from somewhere in the lunchroom, the three boys being seniors are used to it and don’t pay any attention, though now that he thinks about it it sounded more like a laugh, “Where did you even first see him?” Jeno asks, cocking a brow towards Donghyuck.

“I first saw the love of my life while walking to my first hour,” he closes his eyes, swooning at the memory, “I smiled at him, and he scowled.”

Jeno and Jaemin break out in laughter, “Wait a second, you smiled and he didn’t even smile back? Just looked at you like he hated you?”

Donghyuck pouts, launching a breadstick at Jaemin who expertly dodges the projectile, “Fuck you, it was before school, maybe he’s not a morning person?” 

“Or maybe he thinks you’re ugly?” They all burst out laughing as he says it, Jaemin may act like he hates Donghyuck, but there’s no way in hell anyone would ever think he’s ugly.

Jeno wipes at his eyes, “Cute boys aside, what are you guys doing after school?”

Their usual after school antics are piling into Jeno’s car and going to get some food, maybe walking around Walmart and recording Jaemin doing something dumb for their snapchat stories. 

“The usual?” Jaemin asks, poking at his lunch, that can’t be edible, can it?

Donghyuck nods too, and Jeno tosses his fork onto his tray, “Are you fuckers going to pay me for gas money this time?”

“Jen, we’ve literally never paid you gas money, I think it’s about time you stop asking for it,” Jaemin laughs, looking over at Donghyuck’s tray. He shrugs, meaning he’s done, so Jaemin looks back at Jeno.

Jeno pouts, getting up from his chair, and the other two follow, “I hate both of you.”

They make their way to the trash bins, “If you hate us you wouldn’t give us rides to school and home every single day.”

Jeno tosses his food in the trash, “I hate that you’re always right Donghyuck.”

 

 

Jaemin’s really thankful for Jeno and Donghyuck, even though he’d never admit it to their faces unless he was dying or something. 

He’s not thankful for them when they ditch him in the middle of the mall to annoy Mark who is trying to study at Starbucks a five minute walk away peacefully. 

Sighing, he pulls out his phone to add a picture of him pouting to his Snapchat story, complete with applications for new best friends are open :( as a caption. When he’s done, he pulls his bottom lip into his mouth, walking in the direction of the doors. He intends to make his way over to meet the other three boys, but when his stomach growls halfway there, he changes his mind. 

Jaemin makes it to the street when he hears a yell behind him, and then Donghyuck crashes into him, almost knocking the both of them to the ground.

“Fucking dickhead,” he says, pushing the laughing boy off of him. Jaemin looks away from Donghyuck to send a nod Mark’s way. He looks tired and annoyed, but then again that’s what he always looks like around Donghyuck.

Jeno walks up to him, bumping their shoulders together, “McDonald's?”

“I have cash,” Jaemin replies, digging in his pockets to pull out his wallet. Donghyuck claps his hands together, giving Jaemin his most innocent smile, “You don’t have to do that, I’m already paying for all of you, go back to acting like the demon you are.”

Donghyuck gasps, offended, “How dare you! I am an angel!”

“No offense Duckie, but I think if anyone’s an angel it’d be Jeno,” Mark pushes past the younger, getting a few steps ahead of the trio. 

Jeno sends him one of his signature smiles, and Jaemin swoons, “You’re right Mark, we are in the presence of an angel,” he turns to look at a very unimpressed Donghyuck, “how do you two get along? Isn’t that against Hell’s rules or something?”

Donghyuck stomps ahead of the other two, catching up to Mark, while Jaemin just laughs, throwing an arm around Jeno’s shoulders. Jeno shrugs him off and runs to catch up to Mark and Donghyuck.

Jaemin watches them from behind, Donghyuck’s holding onto Jeno’s hand, using his other to poke at Mark’s bicep. Mark rolls his eyes, pushing the younger away, and Jeno laughs, loud and happy.

Man, he really does love his friends.

When they reach McDonald’s Jaemin goes up to the counter and orders five 20 piece chicken nuggets to the sound of Donghyuck whooping in the background. He smiles sheepishly at the cashier when he gets his food and heads to their table.

“Tell me again why Y'all didn’t want any fries?” Jaemin asks when he sets the tray down, the hands of three teenage boys immediately shooting out to grab their food. Settling into his seat next to Mark, he steals one of his nuggets and gets a shove in return. Jaemin pouts, grabbing his own box. 

“Because,” Donghyuck swallows a chicken nugget whole, “I’m going to hate myself enough after all these nuggets, didn’t need to add some fries to the mix.”

Jeno looks at all the boxes and ketchup cups, “Nana, can you go get some sweet and sour sauce?”

Jaemin groans, but gets up anyways. When he returns the first thing he sees is Donghyuck throw a chicken nugget across the table at Mark. He hopes that Mark will keep up his adult facade, but instead, he throws one back at the younger.

“I swear to god if you fuckers start a food fight in the middle of McDonald’s I won’t give you rides to school for the rest of the year,” Jeno says, eyes narrowed at the two boys.

Jaemin pauses from where he was getting ready to throw a nugget at Jeno. The elder notices him and gives him a look that screams throw that fucking nugget, and I’ll murder you, so Jaemin does what any self-respecting teenager would do.

He throws the chicken nugget straight at Jeno’s head. It lands, and the three burst out laughing. Jeno struggles to hold in a smile, but he gives up two seconds later. 

All four boys are sitting in a McDonald’s booth, surrounded by chicken nuggets, and laughing their asses off. Days like these are Jaemin’s favorites; when they don’t have to stress over assignments, they can just act like the teens they are and wreak havoc if you can even call laughing too loud in a McDonald’s havoc. 

Jaemin stores away memories like this for the bad days. He lies in bed staring at the ceiling remembering that one time Donghyuck successfully flirted his way out of doing an assignment, or when they went to a party junior year and got tipsy and had to walk all the way to Jeno’s house because he refused to drive. 

He vaguely remembers laughing a lot, falling down a couple of times, and maybe kissing both of them? Jaemin isn’t really sure but remembering the night leaves him feeling warm all over, so he assumes it was a good time.

They walk Mark back to his car, Jaemin and Donghyuck leaving over exaggerated kisses on his cheek, and Jeno pulling him into a warm hug. Jeno drops him off first, with the reminder to not be fucking late the next morning, and Donghyuck screams out a farewell my love! I’ll avenge your death!

Jaemin considers tonights after school antics pretty successful. 

 

 

Mornings are always a mess, especially when Jaemin forgets to do his homework before passing out at around midnight last night. After he sloppily finishes writing out the last math problem on his homework sheet, he goes through the motions of getting ready for school.

Jaemin shuts the door to Jeno’s car at around 7:19 to shouts from Donghyuck to hurry the fuck up. He rolls his eyes and says good morning to Jeno, who yells at him to buckle up before pulling out of his driveway.

“Minnie, did you finish the math homework? I didn’t even bother, can I copy off of you?” Donghyuck asks, holding a hand out towards the back seat knowing already that Jaemin’s going to give him the paper.

He ruffles through his bag, pulling out his math binder, “It hasn’t even been a week of school, and you’re already blowing off all the ‘don’t cheat’ lectures,” he hands the homework to Donghyuck, who smiles at him thankfully.

“Bold of you to assume I listened to any of those,” he turns back towards the front, pulling out his phone and opening Instagram. Donghyuck scrolls past posts from their friends, stopping on a picture of some kid in his choir class with another boy, this one tall and kinda camera shy judging by the way he’s trying to cover his face. He comments something before shutting the app, asking Jeno if they can stop and get breakfast.

Jeno sighs, “Do I look like I have enough money to buy all of us breakfast.”

“I’d pay, but I don’t want to do anything that would make Donghyuck happy,” Donghyuck scowls at him, and Jaemin sends a kiss in his direction.

“Jeno let me out of this car it’s infected with Jaemin,” Donghyuck deadpans, a hand on the door handle.

Jaemin smirks, leaning forward towards Donghyuck who pulls on the handle repeatedly.

“My best friends are children,” Jeno sighs while pulling into the school’s parking lot. 

They make their way into the building with only one incident. Jaemin throws an arm around Donghyuck and smacks a sloppy kiss onto his cheek. Donghyuck wails, pushing him off straight into another students car, wiping desperately at his cheek.

The owner of the car steps out, giving them an unimpressed look, but walks away without saying anything. Two other boys chase after him, one laughing in a way that sounds oddly like the scream in the cafeteria yesterday.

Donghyuck’s frozen, staring at the trio. Jaemin gives him a look, “Bro, come on, let's go.”

“First of all, don’t call me bro, you sound like Mark,” he pauses, shivering, “second of all, that was the cute boy from yesterday.”

Jeno laughs, “Oh man, you really can’t make a good impression, can you?”

Donghyuck glares at him, “Eat my entire ass.”

“How about no, but maybe you can ask pretty boy if he wants a bite?” Jeno says cheekily, walking away before Donghyuck can answer.

Jaemin wheezes as he passes Donghyuck, who is once again frozen. Jeno and Jaemin make it almost to the doors when he unfreezes, running after them, cursing Jeno’s name. They make their way to the hallway where they usually chill before class starts, Donghyuck yelling at them as they go.

“Hyuckie, stop yelling at me I didn’t do anything,” Jaemin says, wiping tears from his eyes from laughing so hard.

Donghyuck slaps his shoulder, “You’re laughing, that’s enough for me to yell at you.”

Jaemin huffs out a laugh as they settle in a sort of minicircle, standing near the wall as to not get a teacher on their ass about blocking the hallway. Donghyuck pouts, pulling out his phone in an attempt to ignore Jeno and Jaemin.

Jeno calls Donghyuck’s name repeatedly trying to get a reaction other than the other’s face reddening in anger when Jaemin feels a tap on his shoulder. Jeno turns his attention to Jaemin when he turns around to find some kid he vaguely remembers seeing before staring at him.

“Uh, hello?” Jaemin asks, confused at the situation.

The kid’s blushes, looking down at the sticky note in his hand, “You’re Jaemin right?”

“Yeah, what do you want?” He cringes, the words coming out a bit too rude.

“I’m Jisung, I’m supposed to be tutoring you in English,” the kid – Jisung – says slowly, eyes surveying Jaemin’s reaction.

Donghyuck giggles behind him and Jeno hits him to shut him up, “Oh right, sorry about that,” he scratches the back of his neck embarrassedly, “Can I have your number or something? So we can make a schedule?”

Jisung’s face flushes again, fumbling to grab his phone, “Yeah, here, just put your number in and text yourself.”

Jaemin takes it with a smile that makes the other blush impossibly more. He can hear Jeno and Donghyuck laughing behind him, and he turns to give them a glare. If anything, Jisung’s constant blushing is kinda cute.

“Here, I’ll text you sometime,” he hands the phone back, offering him another smile to which he gets one back, all gums, and maybe Jaemin thinks the tutoring sessions might not be so bad. 

Two kids come up behind Jisung, one poking him in an attempt to hurry him up, “Yeah I will,” he turns to look at the newcomers, eyes widening, “Oh, this is Chenle,” the one who poked him raises a hand in a wave, “and this is Renjun,” he doesn’t bother to raise his head from his phone, just letting out a hum. Donghyuck pales when he sees the other and Jaemin barely holds back a laugh.

Jaemin smiles at them as they walk away, throwing out a goodbye that only Jisung and Chenle answer. He turns to Donghyuck, “So,” he drawls, “Renjun?” Jeno bursts into laughter, that one laugh of his that isn’t really loud beside the first syllable, then falls into quiet giggles and squeaks. 

Donghyuck looks at the spot of the wall Renjun was previously leaning against, “Renjun.” he says dreamily.

 

 

When Jaemin walks into his math classroom, he sees his homework that he leant to Donghyuck this morning sitting at his desk, Donghyuck on the other side of the table, giving him a cheeky wink when he notices Jaemin’s eyes on him. 

He rolls his eyes, grabbing the sheet and handing it in in the designated basket before sitting down.

“So,” Donghyuck says, shoving his book bag under his chair, “Jisung totally thinks you’re cute.”

Jaemin sighs, “He doesn’t think I’m cute, he was just nervous or something.” The teacher starts talking before Donghyuck can reply, narrowing his eyes at Jaemin, letting him know that they’ll continue the conversation later. 

Math has never been Jaemin’s favorite, but he’s not as bad at it as he is english, so he thinks it’s okay. At the end of the lesson they’re told to work on their homework in pairs, and before Jaemin knows it, Donghyuck’s in the seat next to him.

“The kid has a crush on you Jaemin! Admit it!” Donghyuck says, handing him the sheet of paper.

Jaemin sighs, writing his name on the line before turning to look back at Donghyuck, “I don’t even know how old he is stop calling him kid,” he pauses, looking to see what the teacher’s doing. When he sees her sit down at her desk to grade papers he continues, “and he doesn’t have a crush on me.”

Donghyuck laughs, “Did you see him Jaemin? Did you see those chubby pinchable cheeks? That is not a senior,” he says, shaking his head while grabbing his calculator from his backpack, “and fine, he doesn’t have a crush on you,” he smiles mischievously at Jaemin, “but I bet you you can make him fall in love with you by the time this whole tutoring shit is done.”

“If I agree to the bet will you shut up?” he asks, rolling his eyes.

Donghyuck chirps out a yes and Jaemin starts on the first problem, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

 

 

Jaemin’s laying on the floor of the practice room, chest heaving up and down, when the door opens and a very nervous Jisung walks in. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaemin sees Jeno smirk at the younger, and he hauls himself off the floor before the elder can say something. 

“Hey Jisung, what’s up?” Jaemin asks, catching the towel Jeno throws at him to wipe the sweat from his body.

Jisung’s frozen, blank eyes staring into his own to prevent them from wandering down to look at Jaemin’s bare chest. He thinks it’s cute, the way the younger’s hands shake slightly, the flush on his cheeks. 

“You weren’t answering your phone,” he pauses, looking away towards the mirror, taking in his flustered appearance. Jisung straightens up, clearing his throat, “I guessed you’d be here.”

Jaemin smiles, “You guessed right,” his voice is soft, almost fond, and it throws Jisung for a loop before he regains his composure.

“I’m free after school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, also the weekend, so whenever works for you we can meet up,” he says, listing them off on his fingers like he’s afraid he’ll forget.

Jaemin thinks, “Oh, um, we can do Tuesdays and Wednesdays? Maybe Saturdays if I’m really struggling.”

Jisung nods enthusiastically, “That’ll work!” He turns his head to look at Jeno, who raises his eyebrows at the younger. Jisung immediately turns his head, face flushing more out of intimidation than being flustered.

“Hey, kid, I have a question for you,” Jeno speaks up, and Jisung jumps, not expecting him to talk.

Jisung swallows, “I probably have an answer, shoot.”

Jeno smirks at him, glancing at Jaemin for a split second, “How old are you?”

“I’m a Junior, I’m 16,” Jisung says, nodding along with his words.

Oh god, this kid is really cute.

“You’re a baby!” Jaemin exclaims, pinching Jisung’s cheeks against his better judgment. Jisung jumps, but doesn’t push Jaemin away; he’ll have to remember that.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jisung says, and his phone dings, “Oh, I have to go, see you both later.”

Jaemin frowns, but catches himself quickly, putting on another smile, determined to not show how disappointed he is, “Okay! I’ll see you later? Text me if you want.”

Jisung leaves with a smile and a wave to Jaemin and an awkward nod at Jeno. 

Jeno laughs when he leaves, but he doesn’t say anything, just raises his eyebrows at Jaemin.

“Oh, fuck off,” he says, turning away from him to grab his bag. Jeno laughs behind him, and Jaemin throws his towel at him. The other cringes in disgust, twisting his body away from the fabric. 

 

 

Jaemin’s late to their first study session.

He doesn’t mean to be; it’s not like he didn’t want to go and spend time with the adorable underclassman, Jaemin just lost track of time. By the time Jaemin walks into the library and spots Jisung he’s probably at least 15 minutes late.

Jisung looks antsy sitting at the table by himself, checking his phone every so often for the time, or maybe to see if there’s a text from Jaemin explaining everything. He walks up to the table feeling awkward and mad at himself for forgetting.

“Um, hey. Sorry for being late I’m a dumbass, it won’t happen again,” Jisung looks up at him as he speaks, a smile slowly spreading across his face. 

“That’s okay, sit down, where do you want to start?” Jisung’s voice is soft as he speaks, not even mad at Jaemin, it makes him feel weak– in a good way.

Jaemin realizes quickly into their first study session that he loves listening to Jisung talk. The way he gestures as he speaks, talking about stuff that Jaemin doesn’t understand at all but finds so incredibly interesting as the words fall from Jisung’s lips. It’s like music to his ears. 

“Jaemin,” Jisung waves a hand over Jaemin’s face. He blinks, shaking his head, eyes focusing on Jisung again. 

“Sorry, I zoned out, what were you saying?” 

Jisung laughs, “Is English really that boring to you or am I just really distracting.”

“You’re just really distracting. How can you sit here and be cute as hell and not expect me to get distracted,” Jaemin pouts, looking at Jisung who flushes. 

Jisung looks down at his book, red-faced, and refusing to look Jaemin in the eye. 

Jaemin smirks at the younger’s reaction, maybe this whole tutoring thing won’t be so bad after all. 

Jisung starts explaining things again, avoiding Jaemin’s eye. When Jaemin does manage to make Jisung look at him the younger blushes and stutters, quickly looking away and shaking his head. 

It’s probably the most adorable thing Jaemin has ever seen. 

The rest of the session goes as smoothly as it can, Jisung eventually learns to handle Jaemin’s flirting and keeps the stuttering down to a minimum, though he hasn’t quite mastered not blushing every time Jaemin looks at him. 

Jaemin leaves with a smile on his face, and excited to see Jisung again. 

 

 

“I swear to fuck if Mark tells me the Earth is flat one more time I’ll block his number and never talk to him ever again.”

Donghyuck’s eyes are trained on his phone, rapidly typing, trusting in Jeno to guide him to the car. Jeno looks pointedly at Jaemin, miming shoving Donghyuck against a car.

“Hyuck, is he kidding or does he really believe that the Earth is flat?” Donghyuck’s phone dings and he scowls, locking his phone and shoving it in his pocket.

He pauses, closing his eyes and collecting himself, “At this point, I’m not sure, I thought he was doing it to annoy me, but he has way too much evidence for him not to believe.”

Jaemin laughs, throwing a look back towards the school. He narrows his eyes, spotting Jisung walking alone towards the street leaving the campus, “What’s Jisung doing?”

“Is he walking home?” Jeno asks, cocking his head confusedly towards the younger, “Jaem, ask him if he wants a ride.”

Jaemin hands his bag off to Donghyuck who groans, it being way too heavy for his noodle arms to hold. He jogs over to Jisung, smiling at him when he notices Jaemin coming towards him.

“Sungie! Do you need a ride?” He asks, stopping in front of the younger boy.

Jisung blushes, “Yeah,” Jaemin nods, guiding him back in the direction of the car, “Thursdays after school both Renjun and Chenle have to stay late so I usually just walk home.”

Jeno perks up, “I can give you a ride whenever you need kid.”

He nods and sends Jeno a quiet thank you, hopping into the backseat. Jaemin follows him in, buckling up when he gets situated.

Donghyuck laughs, looking at the two of them through the rear view window, “Jaemin won’t be lonely in the back seat anymore.” Jaemin smiles at Jisung and receives a shy smile in response. Jeno pulls out of the parking lot slowly while Donghyuck takes control of the radio. He turns back to look at Jisung, “Any requests?”

“U-uh Shinee?” Jisung replies nervously, fingering at the seatbelt across his chest.

Donghyuck smirks, “Okay, I approve of him, Nana.” He winks at Jaemin and then turns back without saying anything else, pressing shuffle on his Shinee playlist.

Jisung lets out a breath, relaxing in his seat. Jaemin giggles, poking him in the shoulder. He pushes Jaemin’s hand away, pouting at the elder as he laughs louder. Jeno asks Jisung where he lives, breaking the atmosphere the two boys in the back seat created. Jisung answers and Jeno nods, turning onto a street close to the school. 

They pull into Jisung’s driveway not long after that, and Jaemin doesn’t think before throwing open his door as well and walking Jisung up to the door.

“I’m expecting to see you showing up here uninvited all of the time now,” Jisung says, a goofy smile on his face.

Jaemin pouts, “What makes you think that?”

“Just seems like the type of thing you’d do,” he turns to unlock the door before turning back to look at Jaemin, “See you sometime this weekend?” Jisung smiles, winding Jaemin.

Jaemin pulls the younger into a hug. Jisung squeaks, but wraps his arms around Jaemin’s neck anyway, “See you,” he whispers into Jisung’s neck. 

Jisung’s blushing when he pulls away, and Jaemin can hear Jeno and Donghyuck laughing at him in the car, but he doesn’t care. The younger sends him one last flustered smile before disappearing into the house.

Jaemin sighs when he gets back in the car, melting into his seat.

“Bro,” Donghyuck says, smiling back at him from his seat in the front, “you’re so whipped.”

Jeno laughs, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards Jaemin’s house. Jaemin doesn’t say anything the whole ride home, too busy thinking about how warm Jisung felt in his arms. He’ll definitely have to do that again.

Jeno puts the car in park, turning around to look at him as Jaemin grabs his bag and opens the door, “You have a crush on him.”

Jaemin scowls, “I haven’t even known him a month.” Donghyuck whispers something that sounds suspiciously like what’s that have to do with anything under his breath. Jaemin slams the door shut.

“Bye bye lover boy!” Donghyuck screams out the window as Jaemin makes his way to his front door. He rolls his eyes, tossing up his middle finger towards the other as a response.

 

 

Another popular after school activity is the three of them meeting up with a bunch of people they know from school at some random fast food place and terrorizing the workers for an hour or so. 

Today they’re at a burger place, all nine of them squished into a booth. Jaemin’s in between Donghyuck and Lauren, a cheerleader, who has sort of an obsession with Jaemin. They went to a dance together in freshman year and ever since she’s been trying to, in Donghyuck’s words, get into your pants.

“So,” she says, a perfectly manicured hand playing with Jaemin’s hair, “Jaemin, rumor around school is that you’re hanging out with some junior,” she says it like it’s a crime, and that doesn’t sit well in Jaemin’s stomach. The guys around the table gag when they hear her words. “What’s up with that?”

“Uh, he’s tutoring me in English,” Jaemin says uncomfortably. 

Lauren pouts, “Baby If you needed a tutor you could’ve just asked me,” she gets her face close to Jaemin’s tilting her head, “I have a 4.0.”

“I uh- I would’ve, but my teacher specifically assigned him to me so,” he trails off, looking away from the girl.

The table erupts in chatter about how much they hate their English teacher and underclassmen. Jeno shoots Jaemin a worried look, watching how his happy mood suddenly dropped.

Donghyuck interrupts, making the table quiet down, “You’ll never believe what else Jaemin agreed to.” He’s smiling devilishly at the group, and Jaemin wants the ground to swallow him whole. 

“Donghyuck…,” Jeno warns a hand on the youngers shoulder.

He pushes it off, “I bet him that he could make the poor kid fall in love with him,” the table explodes in laughter, and Jaemin raises a hand to his mouth, biting at his nails, “It’s so obvious that he has a crush on our dear Jaemin, it’s honestly kinda sad.”

The group branches off into different conversations after that, Lauren telling him to call her for a fun night when the bet is over, and Donghyuck relishing in the attention he’s getting. 

Jaemin slides out of the booth, quietly saying he needs some air and walks out the door. He leans against the wall trying to figure out why he feels so shitty right now. The door opens again after him, but he doesn’t bother to look up, too focused on not throwing up.

“Are you hungry Nana?” 

Jaemin looks up to see Jeno looking at him sympathetically. It makes him feel pathetic, “No, I’m good.”

Jeno laughs, though it sounds forced, “That’s what I thought, you’ve been chewing on your nails the whole time we’ve been here.”

“Why do I feel so shitty Jeno?” Jaemin asks, chewing on his bottom lip.

The older boy sighs, rubbing Jaemin’s back, “Maybe because you genuinely like Jisung and all this talk about a dumb bet makes you feel like people don’t realize that.”

“I really do like hanging out with Jisung, it’s not just some bet,” Jaemin sounds frustrated, pulling at his hair with his hands.

Jeno grabs his hands, pulling them away and intertwining their fingers, “Maybe you should tell Jisung about the bet, even if it’s dumb.”

Jaemin shakes his head, “No, that’d be stupid. He’s my friend; really, there is no bet.”

The door suddenly opens as soon as he finishes his sentence and they both whip their heads around to see who it is.

“Bro…,” Donghyuck says, looking down at their still intertwined hands, “That’s pretty fucking gay.”

Jaemin pulls away from Jeno’s grip, “You act like you’re not always fucking begging to hold our hands.” 

Donghyuck flinches, and so does Jaemin, his words sounded angrier than he means too. 

“Are you mad at me or something?” Donghyuck asks, eyebrows furrowed, “Is it because I brought up the bet? I meant it as a joke Nana.”

Jaemin pushes past him, heading towards the car, “I don’t feel good, let’s go home.”

Jeno and Donghyuck exchange looks, worried about Jaemin. Donghyuck looks away first, heading towards the car, “Alright, I’m ready anyway.”

The car ride home is silent, and somehow the silence makes Jaemin feel even worse.

 

 

Jaemin’s currently slouched on a couch in Donghyuck’s basement, texting Jisung, while Jeno and Donghyuck fight over what movie to watch. Jisung replies and Jaemin snorts, catching the other two’s attention.

“Ok lover boy quit looking at your phone and pay attention to the movie,” Donghyuck says, attempting to snatch Jaemin’s phone out of his hand. 

He’s too slow, “You haven’t even put a movie in yet.”

“Just, invite him over or something,” Jeno says, settling down next to Jaemin on the couch.

He pouts, but shoots Jisung a text of are you busy? if not do you want to watch movies with me and the guys? Donghyuck peaks over his shoulder and snorts when he sees Jisung’s contact name in his phone.

“Sungie with,” he pauses, mumbling numbers under his breath, “one, two, three hearts!” 

Jaemin pushes Donghyuck away, grumbling about how annoying he is. I’m not busy, what’s the address renjun can drop me off, Jisung replies, and a smile unconsciously makes its way onto Jaemin’s face.

Donghyuck groans at him while Jaemin sends the younger the address. Sighing, Jeno gets up, pressing play on whatever movie Donghyuck decided he wanted to watch. 

Jaemin spends the first 20 minutes of the movie impatiently shaking his right leg, chewing on his lip, while waiting for Jisung to come. The doorbell rings, and he shoots up, ignoring the way Donghyuck and Jeno snicker at his excitement. 

“If I fall asleep, please don’t make fun of me,” Jisung says when he opens the door, hand rubbing at his right eye sleepily.

It’s adorable, “That’s alright, come in.”

He leads Jisung to the couch, lightly pushing him down in the spot next to where Jaemin was originally sitting, and then plopping down next to the younger. Jisung yawns, setting his head back against the couch, desperately trying to keep his eyes open.

Eventually, Jisung’s head falls to lay on Jaemin’s shoulder. He freezes, not wanting to move the other in any way. It’s a little bit uncomfortable, but Jaemin can’t complain because of the way Jisung’s hand is laid across Jaemin’s thigh.

Jaemin cringes another ten minutes into the movie; his neck is really starting to hurt. He shifts and Jisung makes a noise, bringing his hand to clutch at Jaemin’s shirt.

“Jisung,” he whispers, “This is kinda uncomfy, let me try something else.”

And that’s how they end up with Jisung laying on top of Jaemin on the couch, his head buried in Jaemin’s chest. He drags a hand lazily up and down the younger’s back, humming along to whatever song the characters in the movie are singing. 

There’s a smile on Jaemin’s face. Maybe he’s found an after school activity that he likes more than hanging out with Jeno and Donghyuck at Walmart.

 

 

Autumn is Jaemin’s favorite season. 

The leaves on the ground, there’s always an aura of happiness wafting through the air, and Halloween. It’s everyone’s favorite holiday, and even though Jaemin is the exception to that, he prefers Valentine’s Day, he still quite enjoys the holiday.

Jisung loves Halloween. They were talking about it the other day late at night when they were talking when they should’ve been sleeping- that seems to be a reoccurring event between the two.

(Jaemin doesn’t know when they graduated from texting to phone calls, but it’s not like he’s complaining, he quite enjoys hearing the younger’s voice, the excited lilt to his words whenever he talks about things that make him happy.

“I don’t know why I like Halloween so much, I just do,” he says and Jaemin smiles, imagining Jisung laid out on his bed, hair fanned across his pillow, a gummy smile on his face. 

“It’s a great holiday,” Jaemin says truthfully.

He hears Jisung shift around, “Is it your favorite?”

“No, I love it but I’ve always preferred Valentine’s Day. I guess that’s just the hopeless romantic in me.”

Jisung laughs on the other line, going on some other tangent about just how much of a hopeless romantic Jaemin is, but he doesn’t pay much attention, head lost in a fantasy about taking Jisung on a pretty date somewhere nice, somewhere he deserves.)

Another thing Jisung mentioned that night is that he loves pumpkin patches. He was whining yesterday about how Chenle and Renjun were too busy this month to take him, so Jaemin decided to make his dream come true.

The look on Jisung’s face when he asked the younger if he wanted to go with him is something Jaemin will treasure for a long time. He was elated, eyes wide, gummy smile out in full force, and Donghyuck forgive him, but he looked like the sun.

Jisung chattered excitedly the whole ride there, hand holding tightly onto Jaemin’s. He found it almost impossible to pay attention to the road, not when Jisung looked that beautiful in the front seat while retelling stories from when he was younger.

“One time my mom lost me in the corn maze,” Jisung says, staring out the window wistfully, “I was in there for like ten minutes before she found me, I was so scared,” he laughs at the memory, though Jaemin can tell it still bothers him a bit.

“Don’t worry Jisungie, I won’t lose you,” Jisung turns to look at him as Jaemin brings their intertwined hands up to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of the younger’s hand.

Jisung blushes, turning his head away again, calming himself before he goes on another rant about last year with Chenle and Renjun. 

“I swear Renjun would’ve dropped that pumpkin of Chenle’s head if I hadn’t distracted him,” they both laugh as Jaemin pulls into the parking lot. Jisung’s buzzing with excitement, turning into a chatterbox as he tells Jaemin about all the things he wants to do.

Jaemin pays the entrance fee much to Jisung’s dismay, and they’re on their way. They make their way to a little shop the pumpkin patch has that gives out hot apple cider. 

Jisung cringes when he takes a drink, pulling the cup away quickly, a hand flying up to rub at his lips, “It’s so hot.”

“It’s supposed to be hot Sungie,” Jaemin laughs as the other boy pouts, blowing on the drink as he turns to walk out of the store. 

Jisung leads him over to the line for the tractor ride to the actual pumpkin patch. They stand in comfortable silence, finishing the rest of their drinks. The younger perks up when they start letting people onto the attachment to the tractor where they’re supposed to sit, throwing Jaemin and his cups in the trash.

Jaemin holds a hand on the small of Jisung’s back, helping him up the steps. Jisung smiles at him once he’s on, pulling Jaemin to sit next to him.

“How long does this take?” Jaemin asks, leaning into the other.

Jisung gasps, “It hasn’t even started and you already want off!”

Jaemin’s eyes widen, “No, no, no! I’m just curious!”

Jisung laughs at his words, shaking his head, telling the elder that he was kidding. The ride starts and Jisung’s smile grows, poking Jaemin’s thigh out of excitement. Jaemin giggles, grabbing his hand to stop the attack, and Jisung’s expression falters. He carefully intertwines their fingers, making a point to not look at Jaemin.

Jaemin smiles, bending slightly to rest his head on Jisung’s shoulder. He looks up through his eyelashes, Jaemin can see the blush on Jisung’s face, and he laughs quietly. Jisung squeezes his hand, trying not to smile, in order to get Jaemin to stop laughing. 

They sit like that for the rest of the ride, not saying anything. Jaemin rubs the back of Jisung’s hand with his thumb, and Jisung hums a tune to a song he doesn’t know. It’s quiet, comfortable, and very them. 

Jisung shoots out of his seat the second the tractor stops, almost breaking Jaemin’s neck. Jaemin whines, rubbing his neck, but still waits patiently behind Jisung, rubbing his arm, as they wait for the workers to let them off and into the patch.

Jaemin senses that Jisung’s about to take off without telling him, so he quickly grabs the younger’s hand, looking at him, waiting for instructions on where they’re going to go.

Jisung smiles, using their connected hands to pull Jaemin closer to him, chest to chest, “I like you, so I’m going to let you in on a secret.”

“I’m honored,” Jaemin replies, eyes flicking down to look at Jisung’s lips.

He pulls his bottom lip into his mouth for a moment before releasing it, “The pumpkins on the east side are way better than the west, the west is just easier to get to.”

Jaemin smiles and Jisung pulls him off to the east, at least he thinks, Jaemin isn't all that good at directions. 

They laugh as they make their way to the area. Jisung spots the pumpkin he wants almost immediately, running off to crouch down in front of probably the biggest pumpkin Jaemin has ever seen.

“You’re never going to be able to lift that,” he says, crouching down next to Jisung.

He pouts, “You’re right, but I still want it,” Jisung turns to look at Jaemin, giving him probably the most effective puppy dog eyes he’s ever seen.

“Fine, how about this. I carry this for you and then we find a smaller one you can carry for me,” Jisung’s eyes light up at his words, nodding his head so fast it looks like it hurts.

It takes three tries for Jaemin to lift the pumpkin off the ground. He groans at the weight as Jisung laughs at him, though he does thank Jaemin by giving him a quick peck on the cheek, so he doesn’t complain.

Jisung picks out a nice sized pumpkin for Jaemin, gnawing on his lip as he points it out to Jaemin, almost like he’s scared the elder won’t like his choice. Jaemin smiles and tells him it’s perfect, which earns him a smile in return.

They walk the pumpkins over to the area of wagons the patrons of the pumpkin patch are allowed to borrow to carry around their pumpkins. Jaemin sets his down with a loud thud, Jisung with a quieter one, and Jaemin grabs the handle with one hand and Jisung’s hand with his other. 

“Can we circle back and get more cider before we leave?” Jisung asks, looking at Jaemin hopefully.

Jaemin’s never been good at saying no to Jisung, so they go in, get some more cider –sadly, they have to stop holding hands in order to be able to drink it and carry the wagon– and then make the trek back to the car.

He makes sure Jisung is safely buckled into the car before speed walking back to return the wagon, and then full on running on his way back to the car. Jisung laughs at him when he slides into the front seat slightly out of breath, reaching over to smooth down his hair.

The ride back to Jaemin’s house goes smoothly, Jisung telling him about the story he’s currently writing, and if Jaemin picks up on how the main character is almost a carbon copy of himself he doesn’t mention it.

When they pull into Jaemin’s driveway the real excitement kicks in. Jisung can’t sit still in his seat, ready to get out, grab the pumpkins and get inside the house as fast as he can so the real party can start.

They carry the pumpkins in without incident, setting them down on the tablecloth covered table that Jaemin set up before he picked the younger up. 

“What’s your pumpkin going to look like Nana?” Jisung asks, sitting down in front of his massive pumpkin, “Renjun’s always look amazing but it’s because he’s actually good at art.”

Jaemin slides in beside him, “Are you saying I’m not good at art?”

Jisung looks at him, unimpressed, “Just- Stick with your day job. Okay?” 

He jokingly pushes the younger, who pushes back. Jisung scrunches his nose and Jaemin almost cries over how adorable it is. 

They make quick work of carving the pumpkins, Jaemin turned away in a way that doesn’t allow Jisung to see his masterpiece, as Jaemin keeps putting it.

The room is filled with laughter and music, the two boys throwing teases at each other but following them with fond looks when the other is too busy pouting to see. 

Jaemin finishes before Jisung, his design being simpler than the other’s. He moves to sit closer to the younger, watching how almost gracefully he cuts into the pumpkin, leaving behind his intended design. 

There are pumpkin seeds in his hair from their earlier battle, and Jaemin raises a hand to pull them out. Jisung turns and their faces are impossibly close. A thought of him just saying fuck it and leaning forward briefly crosses his mind, but he pushes it away as fast as it came, not wanting to ruin Jisung’s day or their friendship. So he backs away, sheepishly telling him about the seeds, and then moving to sit back in front of his pumpkin.

Eventually, Jisung’s done, and presents it to Jaemin with pride in his eyes.

“Horrifying eyes, scary teeth, I’d give this a ten out of ten spooks would want to be frightened by it again,” Jaemin says while Jisung laughs, looking at him with bright eyes.

Jisung pulls on his sleeve, “C’Mon, let me see yours.”

“Now, mine isn’t at all like yours, but I think it’s pretty neat,” Jaemin says, turning the pumpkin around.

Jisung sucks in a breath when he sees it. Two J’s surrounded by tiny bats and hearts, Jaemin probably could’ve been a bit more subtle, but then he remembered how pretty Jisung looks when he blushes and his hand went on autopilot.

He turns to look at Jaemin, lips set in a pout, eyes shiny, “You’re such a fucking nerd.”

“But I’m your nerd,” It sounds mostly like a joke, but with a questioning undertone.

Jisung steps closer to him, pulling Jaemin into his arms, “Yeah, you are.”

 

 

Jaemin hears the telltale crash of bowling pins followed by Jisung’s excited yelling. He sighs, looking up at the scoreboard which annoyingly reiterates the fact that he sucks at bowling. Jisung bounds towards him to pull him into a hug, and this is the reason why Jaemin doesn’t totally regret taking the younger bowling.

Jisung is so happy here, every time he gets a strike or a spare he gets the biggest smile on his face and immediately hugs Jaemin. It’s the cutest thing ever.

Sadly, Jaemin does not possess Jisung’s natural affinity to bowling, but he’s content being, for the lack of a better word, shit at the sport because Jisung keeps hugging him or grabbing his hand for a few moments whenever he does anything.

“How are you so good at this?” Jaemin asks after Jisung gets yet another strike.

Jisung smiles at him, eyes wide from the adrenaline of the win, “I’m honestly not so sure, I don’t really bowl much.”

Jaemin pouts at the younger, who laughs and pulls him up from his seat and pushes him in the direction of the balls, “Go on, it’s your turn.”

“Jisung, seriously, I suck at this. Why don’t you just take my turns and make me look not shit for the pictures we’re going to post on Instagram later?”

The younger laughs and Jaemin feels a bit woozy, “Here, why don’t I just help you.”

Jisung comes up behind him, positioning Jaemin’s feet and hands on the ball just right, “Just aim for the center and follow through, you can’t go wrong if you do that,” he whispers into Jaemin’s ear and he shivers, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Sadly, Jisung steps back away from him, saying one last encouragement, and Jaemin takes a deep breath. He tries to do what he’s seen Jisung do all night and before he knows it the ball is rolling towards the end of the lane. Jaemin holds his breath as the ball gets closer and closer to the end, and he swears time stops as it hits the first pin.

It’s over in a second, and Jaemin hears Jisung shout from behind him. The younger runs towards him and tackles him into a hug.

“You got a strike!”

Jaemin has barely a second to process everything when he feels Jisung’s lips on his cheek. It only lasts a second, but it definitely happened. He turns to look at the younger, a smile making its way onto his face when he sees him. 

Maybe bowling isn’t that bad after all. He might not have been very good at him or even close to beating Jisung, but he did get a kiss on the cheek from the cutest boy ever, so that’s a win in Jaemin’s book.

 

 

 

Being at school after hours has an entirely different aura than during the day, Jisung finds; it’s more quiet and lonely. Jisung’s done this a couple of times before, though never because he was waiting for a boy, usually waiting for Chenle and Renjun to get done with their various club activities. He’s currently waiting for Jaemin to finish with dance practice, sitting in the courtyard outside the gym and dance hall areas writing in his journal. 

Lately, Jisung’s been thinking more and more about Jaemin. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the idea of having something as juvenile as a crush on the older boy doesn’t bother him, he’s found himself drawn to Jaemin a lot since freshman year. But now that he’s gotten closer to him, to the point where he can confidently say that they’re friends, it’s becoming a small nuisance. 

Jisung looks down at the page he’s been mindlessly writing on to find it filled with words about Jaemin, annoyingly fake deep ramblings about how beautiful he is that makes him roll his eyes in disgust, some of just his name scribbled randomly around the page. Scowling, he shuts the journal before shoving it back into his bag. 

Suddenly the door of the gym opens to let out a stream of teenage girls, they’re loud, but it doesn’t really bother Jisung, being friends with Chenle has taught him how to handle loud well. He remains unbothered until he hears a shrill laugh and his name being said, looking up he hears a couple of girls shoosh whoever said his name and he furrows his brow in confusion. One of the girls walks out of the group towards him, who he recognizes as the head cheerleader that always hangs with Jaemin and his friends, and smirks at him.

“You’re the guy Jaemin’s playing with,” she says, her voice icy and sharp. He’s taken aback by the statement, not entirely understanding what’s going on. It must show on his face because she starts laughing, flipping her hair and looking back at her posse of girls, who laugh with her. “He doesn’t care about you, you know that right?”

Jisung scrunches his nose, “What makes you think that?” She seems confident in her words, and it leaves a bad feeling in his stomach. 

She turns to look back at him, eyes wide with an evil looking smile on her face, “You don’t know about the bet do you?”

The second the words leave her mouth the door of the dance hall opens, Jaemin in all his sweaty glory walks out, smiling as soon as he sees Jisung. It falters once he sees the betrayed look on Jisung’s face. He turns his head to look at the girl staring amusedly back and forth between the two. 

“Jaemin,” his voice trails off towards the end, sounding pathetically small, and Jisung hates himself for it.

She cocks her head at Jaemin, “Well,” she shrugs, though Jisung can see the look of satisfaction in her eyes, “at least you don’t have to pretend to like him anymore.” 

Jaemin’s mouth drops open, tilting his head, he’s clearly confused, and Jisung would think it was cute if it weren’t for the circumstances.

Jisung breathes out shakily, backing away when Jaemin takes a few steps towards him, shaking his head. “What bet,” he demands, tears forming in his eyes. Jaemin’s eyes widen, and his mouth opens, desperately trying to figure out what to say. “What fucking bet.” The older looks panicked, but Jisung doesn’t care. “What fucking bet Jaemin,” Jisung knows he’s shouting at this point, but he can’t bring himself to care. 

“Oh look at him, he actually thought he was special!” Belatedly, Jisung remembers her name. He looks over at the girl, Lauren; he blurrily remembers Jaemin and her going to a dance together during his freshman year, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. She’s laughing at him, but he can’t find it in himself to care. 

“Jisung,” Jaemin finally says, his eyes wildly trying to make eye contact with the younger. “calm down please.” 

His breathing is shallow, eyes unfocused, trying to wrap his mind around the situation. Jaemin’s cursing under his breath, at least Jisung thinks he is; he can’t hear anything at the moment, too caught up in reliving every single moment he’s spent with Jaemin, now with the knowledge that it was all fake. 

Jaemin grabs his bag before wrapping an arm around him. Jisung attempts to push Jaemin off of him, but the older is stronger than him, so he fails. Everything clears once Jaemin pulls him into an empty classroom, leaning him against a desk, before stepping away, bringing his right hand up to his mouth.

Jisung shakes his head, “Stop that.” Jaemin immediately pulls his hand out of his mouth. He sighs, “What bet, Jaemin?”

Jaemin stills at how broken Jisung’s voice sounds. He looks down at the ground, “When you were assigned to tutor me, I complained about it to Donghyuck and Jeno but then I met you and Donghyuck wouldn’t shut up about how he thought you had a crush on me and to shut him up I agreed when he said he bet me I could make you fall in love with me before our tutoring sessions ended.”

Jisung curls in on himself and Jaemin wants nothing more than to hold him in his arms and tell him he’s sorry.

But he can’t do that.

“It was a joke Jisung, I never took it seriously,” he says instead, praying that he’ll believe him.

Jisung looks up, “I don’t know if I can trust you,” he wipes at his eyes, willing the tears to go away, “I mean, you’re a senior, you’re cool, you have the schools head cheerleader thirsting over you,” he pauses, eyes unfocused, staring away from Jaemin, “Why did I ever think you liked me back,” Jisung’s voice comes out as a whisper.

Jaemin’s head is going at a thousand miles a minute, trying to come up with a way to convince Jisung that he’s telling the truth, “Jisung, please believe me.”

“Do you even like me Jaemin,” Jisung asks, anger and sadness radiating out from his body.

“Oh Jisung, of course I do.”

Jisung doesn’t seem to hear him, eyes finally focusing on Jaemin, “Get out.”

Jaemin pales, “What?”

“I said get out, leave me alone. Never talk to me ever again Jaemin,” he says his words with a finality that makes Jaemin feel like Jisung just ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped on it. 

He wants to fight it, not leave until Jisung knows Jaemin never meant to hurt him, but a part of him knows he can’t, that this isn’t something he’ll be able to fix, at least not right now.

Jaemin pushes up from the desk, making his way to the door. He turns around to look at Jisung one last time, “I’m so sorry,” he whispers and then leaves.

The door slams shut, and only then does Jisung allow himself to break down sobbing.

 

 

Jaemin has a love-hate relationship with December.

He loves the weather but hates how he feels during this miserable month. Christmas goes well, he thinks, Jeno and Donghyuck’s families come over on Christmas Eve like they always do, having started the tradition before the three teens were even born.

Jaemin sneaks out of the living room when they start playing cheesy movies, Donghyuck and Jeno cuddling on the couch next to him, not even noticing him get up and leave. He makes his way up to his room, the thought of watching cheesy Christmas movies surrounded by happy people makes him want to throw up. 

He trudges up to his room, head swimming with memories of Jisung. Jaemin lays down on his bed, remembering Halloween, Jisung saying that he’s his nerd with so much sincerity in his voice it made Jaemin want to break down crying at the way it made him feel.

Jaemin thinks about the first time the cuddled, the way Jisung’s breath fanned across his neck as he laid with his head on Jaemin’s shoulder, how comforting the feeling of the younger on top of him was.

All the memories Jaemin’s made with Jisung are suddenly rushing to the forefront of his brain, and he doesn’t know how to handle it. He turns to lay on his side, curling up into a ball, willing the tears in his eyes to go away. Jaemin takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, but it doesn’t work. 

A sob makes its way past Jaemin’s lips, and that’s enough to have him breaking down. Surprisingly, this is the first time he’s cried over Jisung since the incident happened, but keeping all of his emotions bottled up means that now that he’s started crying he feels as if he won’t ever stop.

He hears the door open through his sobs, Jaemin looks up as best he can and finds Jeno and Donghyuck at the door. Jeno sighs, making his way towards him, feeling the bed dip next to him. He pulls Jaemin’s body close, and he melts into Jeno’s body. Donghyuck lays down in front of him, wrapping his arms around Jaemin, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

Jaemin doesn’t know how long it takes for him to fall asleep, all he knows is that he’s grateful to have Jeno and Donghyuck in his life.

 

 

 

Jaemin’s sitting in bed feeling sorry for himself when his phone rings. There’s snow falling outside, he can see it from his window.

“Hello, you’ve reached Heartbreak Town USA, please leave a message after the sob.”

The person on the other line laughs, “Jesus, I forgot Jisung said you were dramatic.”

“You really called a heartbroken boy and brought up the boy who broke his heart? How heartless of you,” Jaemin says, reaching for a tissue on his nightstand to wipe at his eyes.

“First of all, you’re not my dad. Second of all, you broke your own damn heart by being a dumbass and not telling him about the bet,” Jaemin almost wants to hang up, the person is mean, but he knows they’re right.

He sighs, “Who are you and what do you want? Or did you just come here to make me feel shittier about myself?”

“I’m Chenle, you should know me because if you don’t then I guess I’m gonna have to kick Jisung’s ass, and I’m here to convince you to stop being a coward and just talk to him,” the person, Chenle, sounds apologetic, but then quickly goes back to his usual asshole sounding voice.

“He doesn’t want to talk to me,” Jaemin’s cut off quickly though.

“No offense, but I don’t give a damn what he wants, I’m tired of watching him cry. He cried while watching High School Musical the other day! High School fucking Musical! Who cries while watching HSM?”

Jaemin smiles, “We watched that together once, it was the first time we cuddled.”

Chenle screams on the other line, “Oh my god, please just- go talk to him, I’m tired of this,” he pauses, taking a deep breath, “Don’t you think he deserves to know the whole story, from you, and not just twisted snippets from a bitchy het.”

A bitchy het, Jaemin kind of likes this kid, “Fine, but if he like, punches me, it’s on you.”

“If he punches you that’s on you, you deserve it, but it will get all of the anger out of his system, so he’d actually be more likely to actually listen to you,” Chenle says matter of factly.

Jaemin sighs, weighing his options, “Is he home right now?”

“Yes, please go over there his parents aren’t home, it’s’ the perfect time to talk things out,” Chenle eggs him on.

He hauls himself out of bed, making his way to the closet, “I’ll do it, if it ends badly I’m digging a hole, crawling into it, and never coming out.”

 

 

Jaemin hesitantly knocks on the door, stepping back, preparing for the worst. He hears footsteps get louder and he flinches, sinking into himself. The door opens and he looks up. 

Jisung looks different, even though it’s only been a couple of weeks. He’s bundled up in an oversized sweater, and it takes Jaemin a moment to realize it’s one of his. 

“What are you doing here?” Jisung’s trying to sound unbothered, but the breathiness of his voice gives away his true emotions.

“I came to explain,” Jisung moves to shut the door and Jaemin speeds up, “you deserve to know the whole truth, not just the snippets I was able to get out that day.”

Jisung takes a deep breath before turning around, mumbling a quick come in, and walking away from the door. Jaemin’s quick to step inside the house– it’s cold as hell outside– and closing the door behind him. 

He leads Jaemin up the stairs to his room, sitting down on his bed, pulling a pillow onto his lap almost like a shield. 

Jaemin cautiously sits down in front of him, “The first day we met Donghyuck wouldn’t shut up about how he thought you had a crush on me,” Jisung sucks in a breath, eyes darting around the room. 

“I kept telling him to shut up but he wouldn’t listen,” he sucks in a breath, looking down at his lap, “and then he said that he bet me I could make you fall in love with me by the time our tutoring ended.”

He looks up at Jisung and his heart breaks again. There are tears streaming down his face, though he doesn’t try to wipe them again. Jaemin almost wants to reach out and do it for him, but he doesn’t want to cross any boundaries, “I only agreed to get him to stop talking about it. I never took it seriously, it was a joke.”

“So whenever we hung out,” Jisung finally speaks, bringing a hand to wipe away his tears, sniffling, “that wasn’t you trying to get me to fall in love with you, that was actually you.”

Jaemin feels a weight lift off of his shoulders, “Yes, Jisung I genuinely enjoy hanging out with you, besides, it backfired in more ways than one. I ended up liking you more than I should have,” he says the last park quietly, but he knows that Jisung still heard it. 

“I’m still a bit hurt,” Jisung chooses his words carefully, “but, I still want to be your friend Jaemin.”

Jaemin’s head shoots up. He looks at Jisung trying to see if he heard him correctly, “Are you serious.”

“Yeah loser, I’m serious,” Jisung giggles at Jaemin’s shocked expression. 

Jaemin smiles for the first time in a long time and dives at Jisung, pulling him into a hug. Jisung’s laugh gets louder, punching him lightly on the back, telling him to get off. 

He rolls over beside Jisung, chest feeling light. Jaemin looks over at the younger who just smiles back at him, face flushed a pretty pink. 

Jaemin isn't even worried at Jisung not saying anything about his kinda confession, too happy that they’re okay to think about anything that could potentially ruin his mood. 

 

 

Jisung’s annoyed. Very annoyed. His emotions went straight from upset to downright pissed after Jaemin finally apologized to him.

Jaemin refuses to hang out with him. Sure they see each other once in a while, but he does everything in his power to not be alone with Jisung. 

He won’t even sit next to Jisung. 

Today their new and improved friend group – which consists of both Jisung and Jaemin’s original groups mashed into one super friend group – are having lunch together. 

Jaemin and his friends were the last to arrive, Jisung, Chenle, and Renjun having gotten there almost ten minutes ago. 

The three boys pile into the booth, Jaemin behind them, whose eyes widen when he realizes the only seat left is right next to Jisung. He rolls his eyes, reaching over to tug Jaemin into the spot next to him. Jaemin tenses, but allows Jisung to pull him down.

Renjun raises his eyebrows at them, and Jisung sighs, turning around to face Jaemin again.

Jisung opens his mouth, but Donghyuck cuts him off, “Who wants to come help me order?”

Jaemin moves to get up, but Jisung places a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back down, shooting a quick glare at the elder. He swallows but stays sitting. Donghyuck watches the exchange with a curious glint in his eyes.

He turns to walk away, and everybody else follows him. Jaemin turns to him, a slightly panicked look on his face. Jisung speaks before he can, “Why are you avoiding me.”

Jaemin splutters, “I’m not avoiding you.” 

Jisung laughs bitterly at his words, “You refuse to hang out with me alone, you won’t even sit next to me, and hell, even now you can’t look me in the eye,” he pauses, licking his lips, “I thought we were okay, are we not?”

“Wait, of course, we’re okay Jisung,” he speeds up when Jisung rolls his eyes, “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

Jaemin grabs his hand when he’s done talking, and Jisung smiles, “You’re not going to make me uncomfortable, I just want things to go back to normal,” he pushes Jaemin lightly, “I’m fine with it just being us sometimes, okay?”

“Okay,” Jaemin smiles back at him, lifting their hands up to press a kiss to the back of Jisung’s hand. 

“Are you two good now? I kinda want to eat,” They turn the heads to look at the rest of the group, now back with their food.

Jaemin laughs and nods his head, while Jisung pulls his hand from Jaemin’s to grab his food from Chenle. The elder pouts at Jisung, who rolls his eyes and sends a kiss his way. Jaemin smiles and pretends to catch it out of the air and puts it in his pocket. Everyone else at the table gags at the two of them, but they don’t seem to care, too busy sending each other heart eyes. 

 

 

 

Sleepovers with Jaemin are Jisung’s favorite thing. He gets to have Jaemin all to himself, and when it gets closer and closer to the early hours of the morning Jaemin relaxes, something he hasn’t done around Jisung in a long time. 

Tonight they’re squished onto Jisung’s tiny bed, side by side, staring at the ceiling. Jaemin turns his head, grabbing Jisung’s larger hand, playing with his fingers, “Do you believe in soulmates Jisung?”

“I guess? Is that dumb of me?” he turns his head to look at Jaemin, “Why do you want to know?”

He doesn’t answer Jisung’s question, “Are you ticklish?” Jisung slowly tries to back away from Jaemin. He smirks, “Guess that answers that.”

“Jaemin I swear to god if you tickle me right now-,” he’s cut off by Jaemin diving towards him, hands making their way to Jisung’s waist. 

Jisung screams and then laughs loudly, Jaemin shifting to get a better hold of Jisung’s waist. The younger tries to push him off but his weak arms don’t help much, grabbing at Jaemin’s shoulders while pleads for him to stop fall from his lips. Jaemin laughs, stopping, and lays back down next to Jisung.

After they catch their breath, Jaemin turns towards him again, “Aliens or ghosts?”

Jisung laughs, shaking his head at the question, “Why are you asking me all these questions?”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to know every little thing about you.” 

Jaemin’s voice sounds wistful, turning away to lie on his back. He swallows thickly and Jisung feels his stomach drop.

“I don’t know if I’m doing anything right anymore,” Jaemin’s staring at the ceiling, eyes glimmering with unshed tears, “I just want you to trust me again.”

Jisung feels a pang in his chest at the other’s words. Honestly, he forgave Jaemin weeks ago, Jisung just really liked the elder coming over all the time and doing anything he said. 

It’s probably 3 am by now and they’re half asleep, at the point in the night where anything and everything that they’ve been wanting to say for a long time is coming out, “Do I have to change for you to like me? Or want to be my friend again?”

“Jaemin I like you just the way you are.”

He turns to look at Jisung, “What do you mean by like me?”

Jisung freezes, remembering that Jaemin did confess to him all those weeks ago, “I uh– I’ve probably had a crush on you since freshman year. You fucked up by not telling me about the bet Nana but it wasn’t as bad as you made it out to be, I just needed time.”

Jaemin smiles, wrapping an arm around Jisung’s waist, pulling him against his chest, and snuggling into his neck. He doesn’t say anything, breath coming out in puffs against Jisung’s neck. 

“Are we not going to discuss the developments in our relationship?” Jisung asks, squeezing Jaemin’s hands that are wrapped around his waist. 

Jaemin laughs against his neck, tickling Jisung, “We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Why not now?” Jisung whines, he’s waited so damn long for this. 

“I don’t want to be half asleep when I ask you to be my boyfriend,” Jaemin says sleepily, and then immediately falls asleep. 

 

 

Jaemin wakes to an empty bed. He panics, not knowing where Jisung is, and remembering the night before. He makes his way out of bed, down the stairs, and to the living room. When Jaemin reaches the room he’s met with Jisung lounging on one of the couches, playing on his phone.

He leans against the door frame, observing the younger. Jaemin’s always thought Jisung was pretty, but even more so when he’s relaxed. A smile finds its way into his face, and the younger looks up. 

Jisung smiles at him, setting his phone down and getting up, making his way over to Jaemin. 

He pulls Jaemin closer to him, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Jaemin smiles, wide and fond, leaving forward to press a kiss onto Jisung’s cheek.

“Of course.”

Jisung ducks his head shyly, and Jaemin pulls him even closer, wrapping his arms around the younger. 

 

 

Jaemin has a bad habit of taking Jisung on dates to do things Jaemin knows he sucks at. Case in point, mini golf.

It’s Valentine’s day, Jaemin’s favorite holiday; he’s been waiting for this for weeks. Things with Jisung and him are good, no, not good, they’re great. They’re boyfriends, actual boyfriends, and Jaemin has never been happier.

They went out for an early dinner, Jaemin being the gentleman he is paid for everything, and even pulled out Jisung’s chair for him. He was nervous, incredibly nervous, and it annoys him how flustered he gets around the younger, who seems - on the contrary to how he was when they first met - able to keep the blushing and stuttering down to a minimum nowadays.

Now they’re at the mini golf place, and Jaemin is determined not to make a fool of himself. He makes it through the first few holes okay, though Jisung is definitely better at it than him. It’s when he makes it to the fifth hole when things go wrong.

“Jisungie, watch, I’m gonna make a hole in one!” 

Jaemin lines up to the hole, concentrating as hard as he can. If he was able to get one strike during bowling he can make this hole, it’s the first hole for god’s sake. He swings and hits the ball, and watches pathetically as it bounces off the side and lands in the pond.

He physically deflates, and turns around to look at Jisung, pouting. Jisung’s trying hard not to laugh, he can tell, and he sets down his club to pull Jaemin into a hug, planting a kiss onto his cheek. 

“It’s okay Nana, I wasn’t expecting you to be good at this anyway,” Jaemin rips himself out of Jisung’s arms.

He gasps, “How dare you! I’m your boyfriend! Be supportive!”

Jisung laughs, doubling over, and Jaemin pouts, plopping down onto the closest bench.

Eventually, Jisung calms down and makes his way to sit next to Jaemin, “Do you wanna maybe, get out of here and go cuddle and maybe make out in my bedroom?” 

Jaemin grabs hold of Jisung’s hand, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Jisung smiles at him, pulling him up from the bench, letting go of his hand to wrap an arm around Jaemin’s shoulders.

Okay, maybe today didn’t go as planned, but Jaemin wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy
> 
> this took forever and i did not expect it to be this long and yet here we are
> 
> i've literally been talking about writing this for months and i am so glad i finally finished it
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed reading this i'm kinda proud of it 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaesngs) // [cc](https://curiouscat.me/pinksung)
> 
> 180904  
> \- sonnie


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